The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law on July 26, 1990. Its overall purpose is to make American Society more accessible to people with disabilities. In 2008, the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) was passed. Its purpose is to broaden the definition of disability, which had been narrowed by U.S. Supreme Court decisions.

Title I of the ADA requires covered employers to provide reasonable accommodations for applicants and employees with disabilities and prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in all aspects of employment. Reasonable accommodation (RA) includes, for example, restructuring jobs, making work-sites and workstations accessible, modifying schedules, providing services such as interpreters, and modifying equipment and policies. Title I also regulates medical examinations and inquires.

California has a state law similar to the ADA called the Fair Employment and Housing Act (FEHA) and effective January 1, 2001, the FEHA was amended to provide significantly broader protections to employees with disabilities. The amendments include an express declaration that the California statutes are intended to extend beyond the federal ADA: broadening the definition of “disability”, delineating new and different unlawful employment practices arising from certain pre-employment and post-employment inquiries, and prohibiting failure to engage in a timely, good faith, interactive process with the employee to determine a RA for the disability.

The FEHA requires employers of five or more employees to provide RA for individuals with a physical or mental disability to apply for jobs and to perform the essential functions of their jobs unless it would cause an undue hardship. RA can include, but is not limited to, the following:

job restructuring

Providing leave for medical care

part-time or modifying work schedules

Relocating the work area

Providing mechanical or electrical aids

making existing facilities readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities

acquisition or modification of equipment or devices

adjustment or modification of examinations, training materials or policies

reassignment to a vacant position (provided the individual meets the minimum qualifications of the classification and can perform the essential functions of the job)

In California, it is unlawful for an employer to fail to engage in a timely, good faith, "interactive process." The point of the process is to remove barriers that keep people from performing jobs that they could do with some form of accommodation. The process requires an individualized assessment of both the job and the specific physical or mental limitations of the individual that are directly related to the need for RA.

Employers must initiate an “interactive process” when an applicant or employee requests RA. The employer must also offer to initiate an interactive process when the employer becomes aware of the possible need for an accommodation. This awareness might come through a third party, by observation, or because the employee has exhausted leave benefits but still needs reasonable accommodation.

The DFEH has created a sample Request for Reasonable Accommodation package to assist employers and employees in engaging in the interactive process. The law does not require the use of these or any other forms to make a request for a RA or to engage in an effective, good faith interactive process. The use of these forms does not insulate a user from liability or create a presumption that discrimination did not occur. However, they may be a useful tool for both employers and employees.